Secret
by Gater101
Summary: OneShot. It seems the city of the Ancients has more secrets to divulge than they'd first thought.


Title: Secret  
Summary: It seemed the City of the Ancients had more secrets to divulge than they had first thought. Season 1.  
Characters: Carson, Sheppard, Teyla  
Pairing: John/Teyla  
Rating: K

Notes: This is part of the tag fic I'm doing with Camy, dealing in the secrets of Atlantis.

Carson Beckett looked up as the doors to the infirmary swished open, readying to stand. This late at night, it could only mean one thing and that was that someone had gotten injured at the gym working off some steam, or someone was having difficulty sleeping. The darkened infirmary offered no clues as to who the possible patient could be and the fact the lights did not go up meant the person had the Ancient gene. It was peculiar that even after almost a year in the city, many people did not realise the different lighting when one person walked in to the infirmary, rather than another. Carson usually - and now when he did he did not even realise - raised the lights slightly in the main infirmary to allow the person to see but this person was obviously over-riding his minds instructions.

He frowned at that. Since they'd come to Atlantis, he'd gotten better at reacting to Ancient technology and that someone was over riding his subconscious thought troubled him.

He sighed wearily and saved the work on his computer before moving to the door of his office and searching for the late night intruder.

He smiled, despite his concern at the sight of a rumpled John Sheppard as he hovered at the edge of one of the curtains. The lights behind him had risen slightly, a faint glow emanating from behind him making him seem almost angelic. Carson breathed a laugh at that and took a step out into the infirmary before faltering slightly. The Major looked tired, his face gray in the light, his hair dishevelled - even moreso than normal - and his clothes looked as though they had been haphazardly thrown on in the middle of night in the pitch blackness.

Carson supposed that that is what had happened.

Carson watched as the Major leaned forward, past the curtain and peered at the occupant of the bed hesitantly, as though ensuring he did not wake her. Carson smiled and took a few more steps into the main infirmary, expecting the Major to glance at his intrusion any moment now.

When he didn't, Carson knew that John Sheppard was tired.

He was one of the most alert men Carson had met and come to know on the base; he supposed it was why the City was still standing, despite everything that had been thrown at it in the last few months and Carson was eternally thankful for that. That the Major hadn't noticed the Doctor's clumsy, heavy footed approach concerned Carson more than if he'd been brought in on a stretcher. As Carson halted and peered at Sheppard's face, he wondered if the young man was putting too much pressure on himself, if he expected too much of himself - if others expected too much of him. Carson knew the latter to be true; when something when wrong in the City, it was not Elizabeth they went to for answers but Sheppard or McKay and the two would rush to it and forget about themselves - or Sheppard did, at least; Rodney, not so much.

Carson had tried on numerous occasions to get Sheppard into an infirmary bed where he could keep an eye on him throughout the night, just to make sure he got at least one good night of rest but he had always been resilient, and Carson hadn't wanted to push.

"I couldn't sleep," Carson heard him murmur as he began to walk away and he looked up to the Major, wondering if he had known he had been there all along. Instead, the Major was leaning on the edge of Teyla's bed, fumbling with the blankets that were wrapped tightly around her body. Carson paused again, his interest piqued and he turned back to the two. He heard Teyla murmur something and watched as Sheppard laughed lightly, his eyes dipping to his fingers. "Yeah, I guess so."

Carson frowned again and licked his lips. It wasn't in his nature to be nosy - not really, anyway - but he found he couldn't move away. He was spell bound, captivated as he watched the shyness creep back into Sheppard's face as he glanced away from Teyla's smiling voice. Carson tried not to smile.

"I am well, as you can see." Carson knew Teyla was not so well as she would have Sheppard believe. Carson also knew Sheppard knew this too, or else he wouldn't be in the infirmary at three in the morning. "You must rest, John." Carson was surprised by the use of Sheppard's first name; he had only ever heard her call him by his rank and his smile grew slightly. "You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"I know." Sheppard sounded defeated, exhausted and Carson wondered if maybe he should order a day of mandatory bed rest for him. "I just can't sleep when you're not there."

Carson had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop the sound of his choked surprise seeping into the room. He knew his eyes were bulging and he had to bite his lip to stop from smiling too broadly. The lights at the far end of the infirmary glowed brightly for a minute and Sheppard looked around surprised and Carson tried to hide from his peering eyes. He failed, and Sheppard's eyes connected with his and for a moment, Carson could see pure fear laced in the hazel orbs. Then Carson smiled slightly, nodding to the young officer before taking a step away and turning his back. He could practically feel Sheppard's relief.

As Carson made his way to his own quarters, he couldn't help but smile.

It seemed the City of the Ancients had more secrets to divulge than they had first thought.


End file.
